An announcement has been made by Honda Europe stating that over 500 consumers have already placed orders for the new Honda Civic Type R performance hatch. This not only signifies strong sales, but accounts for more than 10 percent of Honda’s annual sales of the Civic Type R. Deliveries to the early orders will start from March 1rst, which is the official sale date. And for pricing, the base Civic Type R costs ?17,600, while the GT model is priced starting at ?18,600. Honda has a goal to sell at least 5,000 of these Type R’s during 2007. Good job, Honda! Now bring these bad boys overseas!

Honda announced on Wednesday that it will be recalling at least 81,000 Accord sedans in the 2004 to 2005 model year. The recall consists of an airbag sensor which could possibly fail due to improper wiring harness for the seat position sensors, which was to detect the driver’s seating position and adjust the airbag inflation pressure accordingly.

The failed sensor could break and cause the airbag to be deflated at full inflation pressure, which could cause serious injuries to the smaller drivers in the event of a frontal crash. Although no injuries or incidents have been reported, the recall is expected to begin from early February and dealers will replace the wiring. Sounds fun.

Honda president Takeo Fukui reported to the Japanese press today that a next generation V6 diesel engine will be used on Honda vehicles including the Ridgeline and others. First off, Honda will apply its 2.2-2.4-Liter, 4-cylinder turbo-diesel to its next generation Accord, which is set to unveil in 2009. Of course, once the Accord diesel is on sale, the Hybrid version will quietly disappear. I think you get the picture.

President Takeo Fukui announced in an interview today that it will move the development of minicars in the domestic market to a new subsidiary, Yachiyo Industry Co., tomorrow in order to focus on higher-end Honda and Acura models. Although only 40 percent of the company’s domestic sales account for minicars, Fukui says that minicars are a growing market and plans to expand the segment without losing profit, which is almost double that of Suzuki, which is Japan’s largest minicar manufacturer.

Due to the growing sales of minicars, the competition for this segment is great, bringing extreme rivals, therefore, Honda needs to put too much effort into retaining sales. But with Honda’s engineers working on both luxury vehicles and minicars, there is no way they can compete. Therefore, Yachiyo will handle the development, production, and the purchasing for the minicar segment.

Already operating at full capacity, Yachiyo may need to expand its plants in central Japan. Honda plans to add a few more minicar models in Japan.

Many images of vehicles that haven’t been introduced yet have been leaked over the web, which is not common after these past few days of leaky pipes, including the Jaguar C-XF concept and the Lincoln MKR concept dispute. Well, now, CarNewsSite brings you the first exclusive images of the new Honda Crossroad, which is expected to be released in mid February of 2007.

Numerous spy pictures were posted all over the web concerning this mystery vehicle which was caught on camera cruising down the streets of Los Angeles in somewhat heavy camouflage. The Crossroad name only applies to the Japanese market, and it may be the next Element as we know due to the fact that it integrates the design and numerous seating arrangements found in the Element.

Size of the Crossroad will be at around 65 inches tall, with a width of 70 inches and a total span of 168 inches, this crossover seats up to seven passengers, opposed to the current Element, which only seats a disappointing four, yet it is more compact than the current generation of the CR-V, yet longer in wheelbase. It will be available with two engines, which is a 140-hp 1.8-L or a 150-hp 2.0 and comes in either front wheel drive or all wheel drive.

When we receive additional information, we’ll post them here, so stay tuned. And check out the small gallery if you continue reading.

Honda released sketches of the new concepts to be unveiled at next year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. Honda will likely upgrade the Stream to seek interest for a more sportier look. The FORZA is a scooter, which is popular in Asia. And the Daily Active concept will be a tricked out Honda Fit. The four concepts include the Stream Exclusive and Sports Concept, the FORZA Smart 2-Seater Concept, the Fit Daily Active Concept.

Here are some renderings of a new crossover from the CR-V and the Stream and the next generation of the NSX from a Japanese magazine article I read over at VTEC.net!

The article claims that the new CR-V and Stream crossover will be able to seat 7 passengers and come smaller than the current CR-V, which is similar to the Mazda 5. The power will come from the Stream’s current specifications. As well, the new Acura NSX will have a 4.5-liter V10 engine and is expected to reach up to 550 horsepowers! The design will be based off of British GT’s, rather than the Italian Ferrari’s.

You should read the source for more details and there’s additional photos if you keep reading.

Honda released a teaser image of the next-generation Accord coupe, which will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next year in January. Named the Accord Coupe Concept, this new coupe will provide styling cues and design features which will be incorporated into the next-generation of Accords, which Honda hopes to set a new benchmark.

From the image, it looks like Honda borrowed that rear decklid from the Chrysler 300, and it looks nothing like the FCX Concept that everyone thought that was going to be the next version of the Accord.

Good news, CR-V lovers! America’s favorite compact SUV has earned 5-star safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, which is the highest safety rating a vehicle can achieve.

Continue reading for press release and browse the wallpaper database for high-resolution wallpapers.

Okay. Honda unveiled the Step Bus and REMIX Concept today at the L.A. Motor Show. Sorry about the lateness of the update but I was struggling to get it all finished by tonight and my computer is getting really slow when it comes to megabytic image files. Anyways, for more information, you can read the short summaries below and enjoy the wallpapers! 😎

Popular Science has released its list of Best of What’s New for 2006. In the automotive category, there are 13 winners. To be considered a “Best of What’s New”, it must revolutionize and change the way we think about the future. Check out the list for yourself.

Big news. Honda’s well-known performance trim sold in Asia is coming to the US. The limited edition of the Honda MUGEN Civic Si Sedan will debut next year in spring. As planned, MUGEN will build only 500 units of this limited model and sell it for less than $30,000. The car is also expected to be assembled in the United States or Canada.

Okay. After much controversy in the World’s Most Beautiful Automobiles post, I must first say that I did not create that list. I repeat, did not. That list was messed up anyways. So I have created my own little list for those who care to listen.

The list contains vehicles that you can find on the dealer lots today, not vehicles that are about to be introduced, so not to cause any controversy.

Rumors has it that a hybrid version of the CR-V is in development, opposed to the reports made by other websites that it will not be introduced. This is confirmed solely on the design of the front bumper, which is similar to that of the Lexus RX400h, which allows cooling of the batteries located in the rear. Sources tell us that we can expect to see the introduction of the CR-V hybrid in early 2008 when sales of the CR-V increase and the popularity of the hybrid system is in order. Although this is not confirmed, the hybrid version of the Fit is a go.